Red Plaid Dress
by kittycat69
Summary: Oneshot. "My father always says I'm five steps ahead of my feet." Peeta brushed the dirt off his pants once again. "Only four," Katniss said with a grin.


**a/n: **This is my first Hunger Games fanfic, so please bear with me here. I know it doesn't exactly follow the story line, but this is fanfiction so I guess it's allowed here. Thanks for giving this story a chance. Hope you all liked it! Maybe I'll write more Hunger Games stories...that is, if I get some lovely reviews telling me to keep going...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Hunger Games. In fact, I don't really own anything.

Updated on April 1: Minor Grammar fixes. Also fixed problem with Katniss saying she's eleven by mistake.

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><p><strong>Red Plaid Dress<strong>

He would not cry. He would not stand here in the schoolyard and cry in front of all these other kids. He would not be that boy. He would not cry.

"Peeta, are you sure you'll be alright? Should I go with you to your classroom?" The tall man hovered above his son. The pair smelled like rising yeast and oven-fresh bread.

"Dad, I'll be fine," the blonde boy whined. His tattered book bag hung off his shoulder. One of the straps was ripped, so he was forced to carry it on only one shoulder. It was very old too; passed down his family from his two older brothers finally down to himself. Peeta's eyes wandered the small schoolyard. He hoped to spot one of his friends, but they were no where to be seen.

"I can't find any of my friends," Peeta complained to his father.

"Maybe you can make some new ones."

"But I like the friends I already have."

"Come on, Peeta. Everyone likes meeting new people," Suddenly, the man's face broke into a wide grin, "Well well, I would recognize her anywhere."

Peeta looked around, confused, "Who?"

His father bent down and pointed to a girl who across the schoolyard. She was wearing a red plaid dress and her dark hair was in two braided pigtails. She stood under a willow tree. She was standing alone.

"See that girl over there?"

Peeta nodded.

"I wanted to marry her mother," the father confessed with a chuckle, "But then she ran off with a coal miner."

"But, daddy," Peeta turned to look at his father, "Why would she pick a coal miner over a baker?"

"He isn't just any coal miner. He is really good man. And when he sings, all the birds stopped to listen."

Peeta nodded and turned to look back at the girl. She was pretty, he realized. He could tell she was from the Seam because she had that gray look about her that all Seam kids have. Dark hair, gray eyes, olive skin. But she seemed different than everyone else.

"I think she's pretty, daddy."

This remark earned Peeta a happy chuckle from his father, "Well then, Petta. Hope you have better luck with her than I did her mother." He glanced up at the large clock on the Justice Building, "It's getting late. The bell will ring in a few minutes. And I probably should head back to the bakery to help your mother. Have a good day at school, son."

"Bye," Peeta waved to his father and then started across the schoolyard.

The small schoolyard seemed huge to the five year old. The area was already littered with students. His eyes searched for a friendly face, someone familiar, but his handful of friends weren't here yet. Or maybe they were already inside.

While he continued to search for his friends, he didn't notice the girl in front of him until it was too late.

"Oof!"

Peeta fell to the ground in a heap.

"Ouch!" He looked up from the dirt to see the dark haired girl beside him on the cobblestones. Her red dress was getting dusty on the ground. She scrambled to get up.

"My fault. I'm a klutz." he managed as he stood up. He picked up his book bag from where it fell on the ground.

"Yeah. Well, you need to pay more attention." She brushed some dirt off her dress. Peeta's face flushed. He brushed off his pants and eyed the girl carefully.

"Uh… I'm Peeta by the way. Peeta Mellark."

She locked her gray eyes back on him. Her cheeks turned a soft pink as she looked down and proceeded to stare at her feet.

"I'm… I'm Katniss."

Peeta smiled, "Nice to meet you, Katniss."

She smiled back at him. At that moment, the school bell rang. Students started to make their way into the building.

"So how old are you?" He asked as he and Katniss started to walk along with the other students.

"I'm five and a half," Katniss said proudly.

Peeta smiled. He turned around and started to walk backwards so he could face the girl while they talked, "Me too. Maybe we'll have classes together."

"Yeah, that would be—watch out!"

But Katniss was too late to warn him. Peeta tripped over a loose root and tumbled back to the dusty ground.

"Oh, not again! See? I told you I'm a klutz." The blonde boy blushed a dark shade of scarlet. He was angry at himself too. He just met the girl, and he was literally tripping over his feet around her. She probably thought he was a freak. He looked up, worried to see her facial expression.

Katniss couldn't hide it. She broke out into a fit of giggles that she couldn't hide no matter how hard she tried. Peeta turned a new shade of red and averted her eyes. Katniss smiled and held out a hand.

"Let me help you up. And maybe you should look where you're going from now on."

He took her hand and pulled himself up.

"My father always says I'm five steps ahead of my feet." He brushed the dirt off his pants once again.

"Only four," Katniss said with a grin. Peeta laughed.

"You're funny, Katniss. Come on!" And the boy was off. He ran towards the steps. Katniss trailed behind him, a bright smile on her face.


End file.
